


Of Love and Death

by phoenixhowl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-14
Updated: 2013-01-14
Packaged: 2017-11-25 13:34:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/639395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixhowl/pseuds/phoenixhowl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>My first try at writing Destiel, and Supernatural in general.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Of Love and Death

**Author's Note:**

> My first try at writing Destiel, and Supernatural in general.

Gravel crunched underneath the shoes when the brothers left the crime scene. They had stumbled upon this case by accident, and having nothing better to do, they decided to check it out. Sam looked around to make sure they were out of hearing range, while Dean started to sum up. “Okay, the girl went out to have drinks with friends, didn't feel that well, and went home. The guy followed her to her car, harassed her, and then out of nowhere..”

“He dropped dead,” Sam finished, looking down at his brother. “Yeah, that's about it. Except for some pushing, she didn't do anything that would have caused his death, and he was completely healthy. We should check that with the coroner to be sure, but still. No signs of lethal wounds, no seizures. He just dropped dead.”

“Right,” the other grunted, shrugging his shoulders a bit as he walked to his beloved Impala. “And what are we doing here again? Assuming that nobody is running around here firing Avada Kedavra-spells, there is no supernatural evidence. Guy could have had a heart-attack.”

The younger Winchester rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “Dean, I just told you the man was most likely completely healthy. Healthy people aren't sick.” His brother shot him a look, making Sam roll his eyes again. “You know what I mean, they don't suddenly drop dead when they're about to commit a crime. Also, this isn't the first time it happened. Apparently for the last few months there were more reports of criminals who were about to commit serious crimes and then dropped dead out of nowhere.”

Snatching a newspaper he had been reading earlier from the dashboard of the car, he shoved it over the trunk in Dean's direction, showing him the headlines. “The people are talking about someone or something watching over this town, like a kind of guardian angel.”

“In the most literal sense, yes.” The deep voice seemed to come out of nowhere, and both brothers looked up in surprise. The green of Dean's eyes lit up when he saw Castiel, but before he could say anything, Sam had beaten him to it.

“Literal,” he repeated in disbelief, pointing at the paper. “You mean an angel did this?”

“That's what I'm saying, yes. I can feel a presence, although I don't recognize it. Maybe that changes when we meet.”

Dean threw his hands up, trying to distract the angel from his plans, inwardly panicking. “Okay, okay, hold up. You're saying that there's an angel in town, punishing criminals, and you're planning to march up to him? That has to be the dumbest idea. I mean, they don't like you all that much. Not to mention you're not, eh, exactly innocent.”

Sam's brow furrowed, and Castiel tilted his head as he took a step closer. “Neither are you. And I know my kind better than you do.”

The expression on Dean's face was telling enough for Sam to intervene, quite prone on avoiding a discussion between the two. “Alright, fair point. But you don't have to go alone. Let us at least come with you. Do you know where he is?”

The angel's blue gaze shifted from Dean to Sam, and he nodded slowly. “I have a few clues.”

 

 

The clues led them to a quite impressive mansion just out of town, and Dean couldn't help but whistle slightly at the sight. “Seems like our angel made a cozy nest for himself. Is he there now?”

“I don't see how that's a burrow,” Castiel mused, and Dean turned his head to look at him, but decided against explaining when their eyes met. “There's nobody there.”

“Alright,” he grunted, motioning for both Sam and Cas to follow him inside. The locks were a piece of cake for him, they were in soon enough. The interior was just as impressive as the outsides, but all in all, it looked like nobody lived there. Sam went to draw a circle with holy oil, intending to make a trap as Dean surveyed the house.

“Cas, are you sure this is the right place? It looks a bit dead to me.”

“Well, that's the point, isn't it?”

Wheeling around, they looked into the dark eyes of a tall, pale woman. Her dark hair and eyebrows made her skin look even more pallid, her lips curled up in a small smirk, and like most angels, she was dressed in a dark suit, with a black shirt.

“Mr and Mr Winchester, such a pleasure to finally meet you after all the trouble you have made.” She sauntered closer, her bistre gaze flitting from Sam to Dean and back as she carefully avoided the holy oil that had stained the floors. “And Castiel, darling baby brother. So nice to see you. Don't feel too guilty about not knowing I was here, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

A teasing wink followed as she settled herself in a dusty chair, spreading her arms to indicate they should sit as well. “Go on. No need to be standing around. I know you have been plotting to kill me, or at least to harm me enough to make sure I don't punish anymore petty criminal's around here, but that's not going to happen.”

“And why not?” Dean snapped, teeth gritting. “We torched more of those sons of bastards. What makes you think you're so special?”

“Because I know more about death. More than you, more than my brothers. And yes, then I'm even taking Lucifer into account.”

The hunter opened his mouth to protest once more, but Castiel's rumbling voice distracted him. “Azrael.”

“What?” Dean sputtered, gesturing at the angel that was still smirking at them. “Like Gargamel's cat?”

“No, Dean. Like the Angel of Death. Arch Angel, even,” Sam murmured, eyes widening at the realization. “Angel of death and punishment, Heaven's Executioner, the executor of Egypt's tenth plague, and so on.”

“Yes, one of my masterpieces,” Azrael sighed, shrugging a bit as the dark eyes fixed on the younger Winchester. “You're well-informed, Mr Winchester, unlike your older brother. Should I feel flattered? Granted, I never returned to Heaven after that thing you just mentioned. I preferred to be on Earth.”

“That thing?” Sam repeated disbelievingly, straightening up and bristling. “You killed every Egyptian firstborn!”

“She had her orders.” Both the Winchesters turned to look at the dark-haired man with a disbelieving look on their face when they heard that, and Dean protested once more. “Look, Cas.. I know she's family and all..”

“Cas? That's sweet.” Pushing herself out of the chair, she approached the other angel with a few large strides, sizing him up. “What's with the cute nicknames, 'Cas'? You know what you're getting yourself into. Remember what happened to Ramiel?”

It was evident that the mention of that Ramiel made Cas uncomfortable, but Dean didn't know what exactly they were talking about. Shooting Sam a side-way glance, he shot his brother a questioning look, only to be met by an equally confused expression. Leave it to him to not know something in the moment they needed it, and he shook his head in irritation. “Look, kitty-cat,” he grunted, earning himself a frown from the arch angel. “I don't know what you're going on about, but you can't just kill people.”

“Yes, I can,” she retorted bluntly, her head tilting. “I'm an Angel of the Lord, and Heaven's Executioner. I can punish however I deem fit. Isn't this what humans want? Someone to punish those who do wrong? We aren't talking common robbery here. We're talking abusers and murderers, and those mortals deserved to be punished. The victims I saved were good people, and didn't deserve such a harsh fate. Isn't that what people pray for? Isn't that the divine justice humans like?”

Silence stretched between them when Azrael was done speaking, and eventually she looked from the one to the other, the smirk back on her face. “I guess I'll leave you to think about it. Again, it was a pleasure to meet you.”

Before any of them could protest, the telltale sound of rustling wings echoed through the house, and she was gone, making Dean mutter his usual 'Son of a bitch!'. There was nothing left for them to do but return to their motel, and Sam let himself fall to the bed first thing, leaving Dean and Cas seated at the table.

No longer being able to contain his curiosity, he set his beer on the table, green eyes fixing on the angel. “So, what happened to that Ramiel?”

“He fell,” came the simple answer, but Cas didn't turn his head to look at him.

“I gathered that much. Why did he fall?”

“We are not supposed to give in to carnal desires. He mated a human woman, took her as his wife.”

“But that's also love, right?” Dean said confusedly, fingers twiddling around the bottle of beer. “And what does that have to do with you?”

The angel slowly turned his head, tilting it as he looked into the green eyes. For a short moment Dean thought he could see a flash of pain, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. “I have no desire to mate a human woman, no,” he said with his deep voice. “So in that way, it has nothing to do with me. But maybe you are right. Maybe he did love her.”

“Huh,” he grinned, taking another sip. “Didn't know your lot were capable of it.”

Castiel didn't laugh with him, just kept looking at him with that sharp, blue gaze. “We didn't know either.”


End file.
